Global Golf Post, March 13, 2017

Arnies Gone Now What Of Latrobe We all felt that way But life has gone on and will continue to in Latrobe Pa a town of 8000 that was home to the most impactful man in the history of the game Even before the 87 year old Arnold Palmer died Sept 25 questions were raised in the community where he was born about what would happen when he was no longer here What would happen to the office in which Palmer first started doing business in 1968 How about Latrobe Country Club Would it continue in its current form And what of Palmers spectacular collection of trophies awards medals and assorted other memorabilia Those are on display in the office in the clubhouse and in the warehouse an unassuming red storage building on the lower end of the property that houses an amazing collection of Palmer collectibles Questions became concerns when three longtime employees in Palmers office including administrative assistant Doc Giffin retired Closing the office What does that mean for the rest of his ties to Latrobe We did not close the office said Alastair Johnston the chairman of Arnold Palmer Enterprises We took our time sharing our thoughts with everyone about how we should go forward The sensitivity of that was not lost on us by any means The folks in the Latrobe office were Arnolds personal staff who served him and his needs It was like a mini organization and they kept him ticking Amy Saunders one of Palmers two daughters an executive with the Arnold Palmer Group and the President of Arnies Army Charitable Foundation was not willing to use the word close regarding the office The office is in a reset or a transition Saunders said Three of the four people who occupied the office were beyond retirement age Its a powerful part of us moving into the future Closing it has such finality to it The small white building once a mini stable for a pair of ponies Palmer and his wife Winnie bought for daughters Amy and Peggy became Palmers main place of doing business Its just up a small hill from the white home Palmer and his first wife lived in for many years On that secluded short street are three homes all owned by Palmer Theres a reason the street is called Legends Lane Giffin started working for Palmer two years before the office was built Thats always been Arnolds main office and I would like to see it remain in some form Giffin said Its just my opinion but I think the building will remain as a tribute to Arnold Dont be surprised if the office basically unchanged remains as something of a mini museum There have been discussions through the years that a museum honoring the seven time major championship winner would be built somewhere in Latrobe Weve been evaluating a museum for a while and with museums and Halls of Fame they need to be supported Johnston said I say that with great regret those evaluations conclude that it just wouldnt be sustainable in Latrobe Even in Cooperstown N Y the Baseball Hall of Fame its a struggle The hope is that historic Latrobe Country Club will remain as it exists Latrobe Country Club is a members club and Arnold stood behind it Johnston said He grew up there and eventually owned it There are no plans to close it or take that away from the members It will continue as it is for the foreseeable future Less than two months after Palmers death his younger brother Jerry longtime general manager at LCC passed away at 72 delivering another blow to the grieving Palmer family Johnston also said he does not envision any major capital projects in Latrobe changing the landscape as he called it by adding new buildings or investing vast amounts of money There were no ironclad guarantees there for Latrobe in Johnstons statement but really where do you find ironclad guarantees these days Were having discussions about incorporating things as well as listening to other ideas Johnston said Were talking about the futures of things like the hotel Spring Hill Suites located not far from Latrobe CC and co owned by Palmer any further development and Arnold Palmer Motors But all of those things are secondary to what people are concerned about in Latrobe As president of the Arnies Army Charitable Foundation Saunders intends for it to continue what it has been doing since its 2015 founding His charitable and philanthropic efforts will continue as we make those more streamlined and make the efforts more impactful as much as we can Saunders said My dad knew the future rested with our kids and he had a passion for them Palmer often said during his career that your hometown is not where youre from Its who you are and theres no doubt Arnold Palmer was Latrobe Nothing was more important to my dad than Latrobe Saunders said I dont think we ever contemplated him not being here even though he was getting older Its home to all of us even to my kids who spent many summers there But now were going to do whats in the best interest of preserving his legacy Lets say I have a draft of what to do something thats a work in progress The folks in Latrobe many of whom were his neighbors and friends anxiously await hearing what part theyll play in that preservation process l THE TAKE MIKE DUDURICH E MAIL MIKE A lot of air came out of our existence that night Well recover but in a different way Gabe Monzo executive director of the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport and a longtime friend of Mr Palmers globalgolfpost com MARCH 13 2017

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